Before 9/11, Osama bin Laden eyed India for terror attacks, CIA documents show

A declassified CIA brief from 1998 said Al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden intended to conduct attacks in India and several other countries. The release offers a fresh look at the reach of al-Qaida's network before 9/11, but names no specific target in India.

In Short

• CIA released 100+ pages of declassified intelligence on Osama bin Laden's network
• India listed among countries targeted by bin Laden, no specific targets revealed
• Bin Laden's network spanned 60 countries after deadly 9/11 attacks

Al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden was considering carrying out attacks in India years before the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in the US, according to a declassified CIA intelligence brief from 1998. The revelation is part of a major release of declassified CIA presidential briefing material marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The CIA has released more than 100 pages of material across dozens of intelligence briefs prepared for former US Presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush.

A presidential daily brief dated August 28, 1998, titled 'Bin Laden terrorist network still a threat', listed India among several countries where Osama bin Laden intended to conduct attacks. “Bin Laden intends to conduct attacks in Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, especially Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, India, Pakistan, Uganda, and possibly Nigeria,” the brief said.

The document does not identify any specific target in India, an intended date or details of an operational plan. The source of the intelligence has also been redacted.

It also said Osama bin Laden could call on a network of individuals and allied groups in at least 60 countries to carry out attacks.

Osama bin Laden was looking at options for further attacks against the US and UK, the brief said, although he had not indicated precise targets or timing.

The assessment also noted that US officials had assisted in the arrest of Osama bin Laden operatives preparing attacks in Tirana and possibly Baku.

Osama bin Laden's established infrastructure in North America, Europe and East Asia also lent credibility to reports that he could target US interests in those regions, the CIA said.

The CIA brief said that Osama bin Laden and other terrorist leaders based in Afghanistan had survived US missile strikes and that their communications network remained intact. Training had resumed at some camps, while other camps were being moved.

The brief came shortly after the US launched missile strikes against suspected al-Qaida targets in Afghanistan and Sudan in August 1998, following the bombings of two US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

NEARLY 3,000 KILLED IN 9/11 ATTACKS

Three years after the CIA documents surfaced, on September 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaida operatives hijacked four passenger planes in the US.

Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York, bringing down both skyscrapers. A third struck the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back against the hijackers. It is believed to have been headed towards a major target in Washington, potentially the White House or the US Capitol.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks, including the 19 hijackers. The 9/11 attacks led to the US invasion of Afghanistan, where the Taliban had allowed Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders to operate.

Osama bin Laden was eventually killed on May 2, 2011, in a US helicopter raid on a compound in Pakistan's Abbottabad, about 60 km from Islamabad. His death brought an end to the almost decade-long hunt for the 9/11 mastermind.

The newly released CIA documents offer an insight into the scale and reach of Osama bin Laden's network more than three years before 9/11. Its reference to India shows that the country was among those considered for potential attacks as early as 1998, though the document contains no evidence of a specific plot or target in India.

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